1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with an improved carpet stripping device capable of cleanly stripping large sections of adhesively-secured carpet from various substrates. More particularly, the invention pertains to such a carpet stripping device, as well as a method of carpet stripping, wherein an improved gripping assembly is employed for coupling a cable to a margin of the carpet to be stripped; the cable is connected to a powered winch assembly so that, upon operation of the winch, the carpet is stripped from the underlying substrate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One common method of attaching carpet to substrates such as poured cement floors is through the use of adhesives. This technique is commonly used in installation of carpets in large industrial and commercial areas. A problem arises, however, when it is attempted to remove such adhesively-secured carpet, because of the tenacity of modern-day carpet adhesives. Manual removal of such carpeting is extremely labor-intensive and slow, and therefore expensive. Moreover, such repetitive labor can lead to worker injury.
In response to this long standing problem, attempts have been made to provide mechanical devices to aid in stripping of adhesively-secured carpeting. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,560,146 and 4,533,118 describe an assembly including a winch and cable connected to an endmost carpet gripping head. The latter is of complex construction and includes a pair of jaws carrying upright pins for impaling the end of a course of carpeting. This carpet gripping assembly is rather complex and the impaling pins present a safety hazard to users. U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,371 to Bell describes another winch-type stripper, but fails to teach any particular carpet-gripping apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,938 describes an alternative approach making use of a drill-powered reciprocal blade assembly designed to segment and strip adhesively-secured carpeting. Another patent of background interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,954.
Many of these prior devices make use of ropes in lieu of metal pulling cables, and these ropes are prone to stretching and breaking.
Despite these prior art attempts, there remains a need for a simplified carpet stripping apparatus making use of an improved carpet gripping assembly free of impaling pins and of construction permitting ready and secure connection of the gripper to a carpet margin.